Haruka awoke to the gentle rocking of the platform. Above her, the sky loomed, vast and blue; below, churning waves licked the stilts of Aqua-Veil. She blinked twice, memories of her lab and ocean-bound expeditions in Tokyo drifting like distant echoes.
She shifted to sit up. Around her, rods of strange design leaned against polished wood rails. Glowing crates—inventory containers—lined the floor. Next to her, a screen hovered: "WELCOME, LEVEL 1 – AQUA-ARCANIST." Her heart thudded.
Something pricked at her memory—falling asleep in her apartment, reading research on cephalopod intelligence… and then, darkness. Now this.
"Objective Updated: Catch 5 Common Kelp Cod (Lv 1)." The text blinked.
Instinct took over. Haruka rose, took a rod shimmering with ocean-blue runes, and stepped to the edge. Below, a shoal of schooling fish glinted.
She cast.